Tokyo, Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)—A first batch of 20 Syrian refugees will be admitted to graduate schools in Japan this autumn under a Japanese government initiative announced last year.

In May 2016, Prime Minister Abe Shinzō pledged to invite a total of 150 Syrian refugees in five years to study in Japan, in response to the 2015 refugee crisis in Europe. The Japan International Cooperation Agency will handle 100 of the total.

Eleven universities have offered to accept the refugees during the first year of the program, including the offering of education in English.

The 11 are Kwansei Gakuin University, Keiō University, International University of Japan, Sōka University, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Hiroshima University, University of Miyazaki, Ritsumeikan University, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, and University of the Ryūkyūs.

In cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, JICA launched application procedures in November last year and received applications from 54 Syrian refugees in Lebanon and from 66 in Jordan. Many applicants opted for engineering studies, apparently reflecting hopes to be involved in the reconstruction of their war-torn home country.